Nightjohn Character Analysis
Many of the world’s greatest leaders have used power to unite their people and make peace within the region’s boundaries. However, in the 1850’s, power was shown through violence towards people with different skin color. In the book, Nightjohn, a character named Sarney, goes through hardships during the time of slavery. Sarney is a slave along with many other people on the plantation in which she works and lives in. Sarney and her fellow slaves are owned by Waller, a cruel and unfit leader to them. Throughout the book, Sarney learns the importance of education, with the help of Nightjohn. The article, “The Monster of Monticello,” explains about Thomas Jefferson and his inhumane acts towards his slaves. Throughout the article, the author explains how diabolical his punishments were and how prejudice he was. The author also explains that Thomas Jefferson’s personal life was more negative than people think it was. Based off of these two pieces of writing, it is easy to conclude that within Gary Paulsen’s Nightjohn and Paul Finkelman’s “Monster of Monticello,” the theme of power is often abused is shown through the characters.
To begin with, the theme of power is often abused is frequently used
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For instance, the character, Waller, demonstrates abuse of power by causing pain to other slaves using a whip, a gun, and violent dogs. On the other hand, the historical figure, Thomas Jefferson was based of Waller’s character. Thomas Jefferson punished his slaves by selling them away from their families and friends and whipping them to extreme. Power is like an upside-down pyramid. The leader sits on the bottom and the lower levels make up the body of the pyramid. If the leader uses power correctly, the pyramid will stay steady and will have a low chance of falling over. If power is used incorrectly, the pyramid will lose stability and fall to the
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